Identification button



Dec. 3, 1946. F. DANTONIO v IDENTIFICATION BUTTON Filed Nov. 3, 1942 uvmvron. FRANK DH/vTo/vm BY ATTORNE 5 Patented Dec. 3, 1946 UNITED ES PATENT; oFFIcs IDENTIFICATION BUTTON Frank D Antonio, San Francisco, Calif. 7 Application November 3, 1942, Serial No. 464,352

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an identification button, badge, or the like, of the type to be fastened to a garment of a wearer, such as the coat, shirt or hat.

Some of the objects of this invention is an improved identification button that is economical to make, light in weight, pleasing in appearance, easy to securely attach to a garment and to detach therefrom without injury to such garment, and in which button the only metal required is a small, staple-like piece, such as of relatively fine wire.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the specification annexed hereto.

Heretofore, the majority of the identification buttons consist of a metal disk over one side of which is secured a paper-like disk carrying the desired indicia or insignia. The paper-like disk is secured to the metal disk by crimping, and an annular channel is formed along the edges of the metal disk at the side of the latter opposite the side covered by the paper-lik insignia carrying disk. In this channel is sprung a generally annular wire terminating in a straight end portion extending diametrically across the rear side of the disk, which end portion constitutes the pin for insertion through the garment of awearer in any desired location.

It will be seen that identification buttons of this type are mainly composed of metal and are relatively complicated and expensive to make. The metal disk is, of course, subject to detrimental corrosion in the presence of moisture unless made of prohibitively costly metal, and is purely used to support the paper-like disk, being fully in that their manner of use is entirely difierent from the button of this application.

In the drawing, Fig. l is an edge elevational view of the preferred disk in the button of this invention that carries the identifying insignia thereon.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the disk of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the means for attaching the button to a garment, which means is shown separate from the button.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View through the disk that forms the body of the button before the disk of Fig. 1 and the staple-like device of Fig. 3 is assembled therewith.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the disk of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the disk through a button when assembled and ready for attach- -ment in this'invention preferably comprises a disk I (Fig. l) of paper or cardboard on which are printed the desired insignia 2 (Fig. 2), and the printed side of Which disk is covered by a thin transparent protective cover sheet 3 of the same shape as disk I, and which cover sheet may be of thin Celluloid or a layer of cellulose material, or the like, sprayed on the printed surface of disk I. Such disks with a protective covering are not new, being generally employed in conventional buttons. v

The body portion of thebutton of this invention comprises a disk}! (Fig. 4) formed on one side with a shallow recess 5. The linear contour ,of the sides of said recess corresponds to the shape of the disk I, so that the latter may be fitted into the recess, while the depth of the recess in disk 4 is slightly greater than the thickness of disk I and its protective covering 3.

This disk 4 is preferably a molded plastic of the thermoplastic type, such as cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate butyrate, widely sold under the trade name of Tenite, and which disk may bemade by compression or injection molding. Some of the phenolics, acrylics, lignins, ureas, etc., appear to be satisfactory provided the molded disk is sufiiciently tough and resilient to sustain the force of driving a staple or metal pin therethrough, as will be later described, and which material will frictionally grip such staple or pin with suflicient force to resist slippage relative to the disk 4 upon normal use of the button in attaching to and withdrawing the same from a garment. 0

Tenite comes in the form of powder or crystals and is thermoplastic, in that it is fiowable to desired form in a die and may be molded by compression or injection methods, the latter being faster, but requiring more expensive equipment. This plastic is provided for forming objects of different degrees of resiliency and hardness, such as in soft, medium and hard classifications, of which the medium class is found to be particularly suitable in that disks formed therefrom are relatively rigid, yet having suincient flexibility and resiliency to resist breakage and to closely grip the attaching staple.

The element (Fig. 3) preferably comprises a fine wire staple, the legs 1 of which are driven through the base of recess 5 from the open side of the recess sothatthe head 8of said staple and is partially imbedded in the base or recess as best indicated in Fig. 6.

. When the staple is in the position indicatedin said Fig. 6, the material of the disk 4 tightly grips the legs 1 with sufficient frictional resistance to slippage of the legs relative to said disk axially of-the legs to prevent such slippage when the exposed legs are thrust through the desired portion of the garment of a wearer, and said wire is sufficiently rigid to enable them to be thrust through such garment without accidental undesirable distortion thereof, but is also sufficiently" thin to pass:

then bends thelegs toward each other to tightly clamp the disk 4 against the side of thegarment.

oppositelegs 'l, and to detach the button, the-legs are bent oppositely outwardly to about the posi, tion indicated in Fig. 6, and the button is-readil-y withdrawn-and isready-for reattaching to another.

garment.

While the button illustrated hereinis circular, it may be of any desired polygonal shape, or elliptical.

The, use of, acomposition material, such as Tenite, or others, makes possible theuse. of any desired-color for identification purposes, such as.

red, yellow, green, white, etc., and which colors are solid throughout thebody of the disk and,

therefore, any attempt tochange the sa me would be easily detected. This is important where it is found desirable to use color for classification of.

the wearer in addition to any sub-classification.

'10 extends across the central axis of the disk 4- by the insignia on disk I, since the marginal portion of the disk 4 outwardly of disk I is exposed.

The identification button hereinbefore described is not corrosive, and the small amount of the metal staple that is exposed (being merely the legs) makes possible the use of a non-corrosive-metal, where desired at amere fraction of the cost of the material that would be required to make a button of metal or in which there is considerably more metal than is disclosed.

While the majority of buttons made for identification purposes are smaller than-is shown in thedrawing, it is obviousthat the buttons may be of any desired size.

This invention is not tobe confused with tickets used for price tags and the like in which staples are employed, inasmuch, as these tickets have practically the entire staples exposed and no provisionis made'for an identification disk, such as disk I, that not only cooperates with the-pin to cover the latter, but that also cooperates with the main body disk 4 for holdingthe staple in place should the staple become slightly loosened after repeated use or abuse thereof.

Having described my invention, I claim:

An identification button, orthe like, comprising a disk-like body of relatively resilient plastic material formed with ashallow recess-in one side thereof, a relatively thin disk bearing identifying insignia thereon secured in said recess; a pin carried by the bottom of said" recess, said pin having a pair of'spaced legs extendingthrough said bottom and projecting a substantial distance from the sideof said bottom opposite said recess and. having a head connecting said legs and disposed between. saiddisk and said bottom and against the latter, the resiliency of the plastic material of said bottom being such asv to urge it into tight frictional engagement with said legs, and aportion of. said, body around the sides of saidrecess being. crimped over the marginal portions. of said diskfor securing said. disk, againstv said, head.

wherebysaidcrirnped portion and the said mate rialfrictionally engagingsaidlegs willcooperate to secure said pin against movement axially of said legs relative tosaidbottom.

FRANK, DANTONIO. 

